Bin service
is rubbish

Catherine Swann, angry at the poor refuse collection in Tideswell

late refuse collections have left parts of Tideswell looking like “a bomb site”, it is claimed.

Derbyshire Dales District Concil is closely monitoring the performance of its contractor Serco following a flood of complaints in the Matlock area since the firm took over the service.

But on Monday, Tideswell resident Catherine Swann told the Advertiser that rotting green bins full of food waste had been left in the streets for up to four weeks where she lives on Gordon Road.

“It looks like a bomb site,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Serco said: “We are taking every step to resolve the problems with the waste and recycling collections. The vast majority of collections are working well, but there are still some residents who are experiencing disruption and repeated problems.

“I would like to apologise again for the problems people have experienced and can assure everyone that we are focusing on rectifying this as a matter of urgency. We have made much headway in clearing the backlog. Our priority is to ensure all collections are brought up to date as quickly as possible and a consistent and reliable service established to all residents,” she added.

“Tideswell is covered as a whole by different vehicles due to the lay of the land. The main village centre is serviced by a large (32 tonne) compaction vehicle, the smaller narrow roads are covered by a small (15 tonne) compaction vehicle, and then farms/houses, situated up hard to reach tracks, have sacks which are collected by a small tipper truck.

“With the properties in Tideswell being done by different vehicles, the collection times for these different vehicles will vary, so some properties will have collection in the village in the morning, and others won’t be done until later on in the day.”

A spokesman for the council said: “The District Council welcomes the extra resources that Serco have put into rectifying early problems on the new waste and recycling service.

“The good news is that we have registered a reduction in the number of calls we are receiving. However, we won’t be happy until 100 per cent of our residents are satisfied with the new service and we will continue very closely to monitor Serco’s progress.”